{"id":4168,"date":"2026-03-10T01:06:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T01:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=4168"},"modified":"2026-03-10T01:06:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T01:06:31","slug":"cubs-spring-training-camp-looks-different-this-year-literally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=4168","title":{"rendered":"Cubs spring training camp looks different this year \u2014 literally"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

MESA, Ariz. \u2013 Loop around the back of the Cubs<\/a>\u2019 main practice field, onto the spring training complex\u2019 patio, and the view across the agility field will be far different from years past.<\/p>\n

Where there once was just more grass, leading out to the bullpens and half field, now there stands an 18,000-square foot pitching and hitting lab.<\/p>\n

It extends nearly the length of the agility field, emblazoned with two different Cubs logos and the team name in the middle.<\/p>\n

\u201cCamp\u2019s never looked better,\u201d Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said earlier this spring.<\/p>\n

His opinion, of course, doesn\u2019t matter nearly as much as the players and coaches who are using the facilities. Their reviews on the new lab have been mostly glowing. There were some early growing pains regarding the layout, but nothing that couldn\u2019t be ironed out.<\/p>\n

The project, which also includes renovations to the main building, was funded by the City of Mesa as part of a long-standing facilities agreement, according to the team. The complex and stadium also host a range of events outside of spring training.<\/p>\n

The 6,400-square foot addition to the main training center includes a female staff locker room, umpire locker room and multi-use office and meeting space.<\/p>\n

The new lab houses two Trajekt pitching machines, force plate mound technology, and plenty of other gadgets that measure biomechanical and pitch data. With flexible setups for the batting cages and mounds, players and coaches can arrange the space based on their needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new building is incredible,\u201d second baseman Nico Hoener said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really huge difference. Just thinking about how far tech and the ways that training in baseball have come even since I\u2019ve been with the Cubs, it\u2019s really impressive. And it creates every opportunity for us to get ready for the season. And it\u2019s a great space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cubs were early adopters of the Trajekt pitching machines<\/a>, which can be set to mimic specific pitchers\u2019 arsenals. And Cubs hitting coach Dustin Kelly said the software and video quality has continued to improve through the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been using them a lot more this spring than we had in the past,\u201d Kelly said \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s just kind of the evolution of the game, and where we\u2019re going, and how comfortable our guys are getting with tech. And just having those machines accessible, guys are using them more.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pitchers have long had access to an array of technology in their old pitching lab. But the new space and tech has a nicer finish to it.<\/p>\n

Along with pitch data, the Cubs have been leaning into force plate data as an important tool for honing delivery efficiency, which can both improve performance and health.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see how much force you\u2019re putting into the mound, you can see how much force you\u2019re accepting with your land leg,\u201d Taillon said. \u201cThey can make skeletons of my body from my lab a week ago, compared to last year, compared to the year before, and they can overlay it all and show you, is your arm longer? Are you getting deeper into your back leg? Those kinds of things. It\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd sees that ability to track movement with precision as a draw for players at all stages of their careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a lot of these younger guys,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, look at these timestamps of where you are. This is where you were really good. Let\u2019s try to go back and replicate this.\u2019 Or, \u2018Look at how far you\u2019ve grown,\u2019 little things like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think of someone that wants to come here and revitalize their career, it could be extremely beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not to mention, the new lab is temperature-controlled, which will be an especially big deal for players who are rehabbing in Arizona during the summer, when temperatures can surpass 110 degrees for days on end.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems super state of the art,\u201d said Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon, who has also played for the Pirates and Yankees. \u201cI haven\u2019t played a ton of places, but it seems like we have to be the top couple in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MESA, Ariz. \u2013 Loop around the back of the Cubs\u2019 main practice field, onto the spring training complex\u2019 patio, and the view across the agility field will be far different from years past. Where there once was just more grass, leading out to the bullpens and half field, now there stands an 18,000-square foot pitching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4168","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-usa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}